Hyaluronic acid and collagen are key structural components of human tissues. These biopolymers have been widely used to construct tissue engineering scaffolds and materials for cell culturing and regenerative medicine.
Autologous fat transfer (AFT), also known as fat grafting, is a process by which fat is harvested from one part of a human body and injected into another part of the same person's body where additional bulk may be needed for cosmetic and/or aesthetic purposes. Clinical applications for autologous fat transfer are expanding rapidly with recent reported use in breast reconstruction and augmentation, buttock enhancement, treatment of congenital tissue defects, facial reconstruction, and skin rejuvenation. Although this is a very attractive approach and there is an increased trend in replacement of soft tissue volume with AFT, typical survival rates of grafted fat may be poor and overall results may not be satisfactory to a patient.
The present invention addresses these and other shortcomings in the field of cosmetic and reconstructive medicine and procedures.